A Lotus to You, a Buddha To Be

Another from Dharma Drops

By the author, on flickr.

A lotus to you, a Buddha to be.

We must see the Buddha in the person in front of us and acknowledge in the mind the bodhicitta and potential for all. And within that knowledge, understand we all experience the defilements of arrogance, attachment and anger which are the manifestations of desire and suffering — dukkha.

When we recognize that our suffering is derived from these aspects, we become more aware. Meditation helps us realize these causes of suffering, and indeed, we do not struggle for the kind of enlightenment that will happen years from now; we practice every moment of our life, so we can appreciate the ultimate reality.

We practice walking meditation not to arrive but to walk. We realize the path to Buddhahood is through the mundane — the washing of dishes, the chopping of wood, the sweeping of steps — all in awareness of the moment.

We can create our own lives, and not be distracted by the media, the need for busyness, the need to live in the past or the future. Instead, we can be aware of oneself, our conscious breathing, our walking. With such awareness shining on us, we can avoid the dangers of self-imprisonment, of watering the seeds of discrimination and despair, and instead experience the cosmic stream of life more purely, hear the music more harmoniously, appreciate the artist’s message more completely, taste the tea more fully.

When we live in awareness, we see the miracles everywhere; when we live in awareness, we see the continuations of all things, and the relationship of all with all. This is anatta; interconnectedness; there are more non-flower components in a flower — the sun, the clouds, the nutrients from the earth etc. — than flower components. There is no “flower” alone; it is a result of causes and conditions. “A cloud never dies,” as Thich Nhat Hanh notes — nothing can be created or destroyed*; nothing can go from being to non-being. It is just changed in form, and our awareness can allow us to see this (“signlessness”).

*This is the conservation of mass principle, derived by the French scientist, Antoine Lavoisier. Using chemical experiments with mercuric oxide, he was able to demonstrate during a chemical reaction the chemical’s weight decreased to the same amount of weight of oxygen generated. Thus, matter cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change forms. Buddhism’s prescience shines.

From *Dharma Drops: Practical Buddhist Wisdom to Live a Happier, More Peaceful Life.*